Review: Finding love and solace with Dawn Upshaw

The gorgeous voice of soprano Dawn Upshaw finally has come to San Antonio.

Upshaw’s warm, intelligent and creamy vocal shadings spread authentic emotion at every turn of two presentations, one in each half of Friday night’s San Antonio Symphony concert.

In the first half, Upshaw performed four Franz Schubert songs under the title “She Was Here.” The Schubert melodies were intact, but the evocative orchestral arrangements are only two years old, composed by Argentina-born

Osvaldo Golijov.

“She Was Here” evoked lament and loss. When Golijov wrote the accompaniments for Upshaw in 2008, the composer was coping with the loss of a friend, movie director Anthony Minghella.

Again, Upshaw combined intelligence, energy and her easy access to the high notes to give lift to the dreamy Canteloube songs. She was as much pleasure to watch as to hear. Her numerous recordings are no fluke. She’s even

better in person.

Unfortunately, the rest of concert, when it was just Chicago conductor Cliff Colnot and the orchestra, did not come off as well. Unvaried tempos and unimaginative phrasings resulted in disappointing renditions of Schubert’s

Fourth Symphony and Igor Stravinsky’s Suite from Pulcinella.

Both the Schubert symphony and Stravinsky’s ballet suite should be cheerful, dynamic and uplifting works. Colnot, who has just been appointed principal conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, likes to direct without a

The best example was the second movement of the Schubert symphony. The slow opening theme is supposed to contrast with the more dramatic faster second theme. But Colnot restrained the second theme so much that the

dynamic was utterly lost.

The San Antonio Symphony musicians could have played both pieces better without a conductor.

Thanks to the sincere and joyous Upshaw, however, the concert was a worthy endeavor.

The program repeats at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Majestic Theater downtown.